What makes your blog (or Facebook page for those who don’t blog) unique, and therefore something someone else might want to read, learn from, or connect with on a personal level?
I’m always looking for ways to make my blog more “authentic” more “unique” for lack of a better phrase. If you blog for any length of time at all you will start to develop your own style and patterns, but you also start to put up barriers to your own writing without even knowing it. Those barriers for me end up being mechanical and personal.
Barriers To Writing, Blogging, or Social Networking
Mechanically, it has to look perfect, be grammatically correct, have a photo sized properly, with a searchable title, tags, and links. This just comes from blogging for almost 10 years, I do this almost without thinking, but it takes time, and it limits what I end up posting. If I just posted whatever I wanted without worrying about the mechanical functionality of the site I would probably post twice as much. Maybe that is a good thing after all.
Personally, I struggle with how much I say or don’t say with each post. It’s strange because Deborah who is far less personal in real life is sometimes more personal on her own blog and its vice-versa for me. I split up my own blog into basically four sections, one of those sections, called the Journal Category where I try to put my ongoing story or walk. Sometimes this works sometimes it doesn’t.
You are What’s Unique About Your Story
All that to say what makes blog articles or even posts to Facebook and Twitter unique is you, your story. It’s like no other. There is only one you and your experiences are different from everyone else. When I write an article about a new piece of technology or a review about a book I read, someone has inevitably already done that. It’s unique in my own way because my experience with that computer or book is different from someone else, but there is something different about posts from the heart about important issues that go on in their life. I love that. It’s authentic, it’s genuine, and it’s somewhat less filtered than anything I write.
I hope those bloggers below take this as a compliment and not a cut down but I have a very short, small list of blogs on my rss feed reader in a group that that I call my “a-list” (which purposely doesn’t include anyone I work with). These bloggers write straight from their hearts to the page. No fancy photos much of the time, no special SEO keywords for titles or content, traffic or stats to them seem basically unimportant, and for the most part design and platform are secondary concerns (although I will say the guys for some reason are far more concerned about design than the woman). I haven’t asked any of them this of course, it’s just a guess.
Somehow they have each individually captured my attention with the genuine manner in which they talk about their life. Funny most of them are woman. Seems that most men don’t want to talk about their personal life too much. The majority of my rss feeds are from the guys, but when it comes to being genuine and personal, the ladies do a far better job than we do.
So each time they do a blog post, I get to learn from them how to be a better blogger and writer, and hopefully how to better connect with other people. A great example of this is a post today that looks at the struggles of deep we get involved in the social networking of today instead of getting involved in people face to face. It’s a great look at why we blog, post on Facebook, and everything else that goes with being alive today, but it’s real.
So I say thanks to them here for helping me to continue to develop my blog and writing in a way that is real, genuine, and hopefully in a way that will connect with other people in a real way. I hope you might take a few minutes to scan through their blogs as well. The list below is their main blog address and their latest post.
- Deborah Fillmer - Week Thirteen – Hurry Up and Wait
- Andrea Collette – To twit or not to twit
- Amy Fisher – While we wait…
- Sailing Bo – Perfection is overrated and how you shouldn’t be afraid to live an interesting life on purpose. (that’s a really long title Bo, haha, but I like it)
- Biscuet – Ray’s House
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Day 4 :: Friday, March 11, 2011, Journaling
Journaling has been a practice throughout the history of the church. Prophets, philosophers, theologians wrote down their thoughts as they sought to understand God and grow in their relationship with Him. Throughout scripture, God commanded people to write things down and keep a record of what He had done so that the coming generations would know what He had done.
Psalm 119:15-16 says, I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Journaling is active meditation on the Word of God and what He is doing in your life.
When we make a practice of journaling, it not only allows us to remember what God has done in our life, but also gives us the opportunity to reflect upon what He has done. It reminds us of His faithfulness throughout our life and serves as a tool in the growth of our relationship with Him.
Journaling is a discipline, and it may take some time to get into a good habit. This reader is a tool for you to develop the practice of journaling. There is space throughout this book for you to write your thoughts, prayers, confessions and ideas.
Take time now to begin the practice of journaling.
Contemplation Over Day 4
Journaling is something I have tried to do for many years now, but it’s also something that takes effort, time, and discipline. Journaling is quite close to blogging so it’s something I talk about with people all the time and the biggest reason I hear why people don’t do this is (1) I have nothing to say anyone would want to read (or I just have nothing to say), and (2) I don’t have time to just sit and write. Both of those reasons are quite valid but I could probably make a pretty strong argument that neither of those reasons should keep you, or myself, from writing.
The first point is a misconception about journaling or blogging, and really the only difference between journaling and blogging is one is private and one is public. Even the most mundane points or details can and do become very interesting months down the road. One reason to write down your thoughts is to specifically go back after some time has passed and reflect on your own thoughts. You will be amazed at what details you found to be important enough to write down at the time. The only regret I have in my own journaling process (and it is a process to get into the habit of writing) is not writing more, and more often.
Besides the two points listed above, the words of the Lenten Reader today couldn’t be more accurate. For me, gradually over the years, writing down my questions and thoughts about my faith have become a wonderful way to better understand my own faith, and what God’s word has to say directly to me at any given point in time. Jonathan Edwards was a master at this, and I have learned quite a bit from Edwards on how to journal, but you don’t have to be Edwards to write.
Some suggestions I might make for getting started would be:
- Start off slow, try to write a little each day
- Write down raw thoughts and questions
- Use whatever format is easiest and fastest (pen and paper or digital)
- Don’t worry about grammar or spelling
- Write for yourself, not filtered for what others might think
Journaling is certainly a slow, long, continuous process that takes effort to develop, but is so well worth the time it takes. I have been working on this habit for years and feel like I have only scratched the surface.
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The last few weeks here on my blog I have been trying to decide what shape or form my blog was going to take. I recently started seminary at Liberty University to work on my MDiv and the time requirements have been incredible. In additional to school and work I have started getting more into a routine of cycling. Cycling was something I never intended to get into, and really had no interest in before this past winter, but after riding consistently for the last 6 months I can now say I am diving in deeper. I traded in some camera equipment for a road bike and have started riding longer in time and distance (26.5 miles yesterday). That has changed how my time is spent, it has actually given me time [away from the computer], much like running would I guess.
For those and many many other reasons I am going to let my blog breathe for a while and take a break from the daily concerns of stats, postings, new content, creativity, and all that. The photography I posted on my blog was/is enjoyable, but was one of the most time consuming things I did on a consistent basis. I am not leaving here altogether, I have been working on this blog since 2001, so after 8 or so years of work on this blog in one form or another I think it is time for a break from the day to day.
I have been giving my obsession with social networking, blogs, and the Internet in general, a close look over the last several weeks and found that once I removed myself from things online that were not necessary for work and everyday communication I had time that could be devoted to many other things.
So with that, I will continue to keep my blog active, but my post frequency will be more scattered, and probably more of just what’s on my mind, which at the moment is my faith, my wife, school, work, and cycling. Luckily for me right now, my faith, work and school have all come together. For probably the first time in my life those three things, basically my faith and study of my faith and my job are all focused around the same thing, the Creator God.
The photo above is our Creator God. This is an image of a place in Colorado I use to drive up to after dinner to watch the sunset when we lived in Colorado. The silence up here was deafening from this vantange point. Not another soul was usually within 20 miles, no road noise, nothing. When I removed myself from the day (unplugged, offline, whatever), I had time to stop and listen, which is what I am going to try to do again.
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One of the special events last week when I made it over to Catalyst One Day was the Off the Blogs meeting that took place in Buckhead GA. This event was hosted by Pete Wilson of Cross Point Church in Nashville and he was joined by Carlos Whittaker, Anne Jackson (both of which are on a blog break right now) Jon Acuff, and worship was led by Aaron Keyes. I went into the meeting / worship time not really fully understanding what was going to happen, and went away with a new understanding of the real names and faces we each have behind our own Internet facade.
There were no laptops, no macbooks, no (or very little) twittering, and it was real, it was hard core, it was intense, and an offline time to unplug and take a look at what shapes our lives. I went in with a few questions of my own.
- As Believers, how are we allowing technology to control our lives?
- How do we use it to further self and selfish ambitions.
- What are we doing to use the knowledge of technology and understanding of how things work on the Internet to further God’s kingdom?
- How do we balance our online lives with those we physically interact with on a daily basis (are those people become the same)?
- It is really necessary for us to unplug when it is not a distraction in our lives, but it is how we live now?
- How can we leverage technology for God’s purposes?
- How much of our own lives do we share online?
- How can I get more connected with leaders in the church through technology?
- How do we connected with people outside the church?
- What is the next thing in technology that is going to rock this world?
I left with more questions than I went in with but it was still a great night and well worth the extra time to get over to Buckhead. Carlos, Anne, and Jon all shared some incredible stories of how they got where they are in their walk and the struggles they went through with and without God in their lives. None of this had to do with their blogs, facebook, or anything technology related, but how God changed their lives. We are all a work in progress and I am so glad I had the chance to get to listen to people I respect in the Church and online.
Here are a few pics from that night.
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This was a different kind of Friday for Friday Feet this week. If you are new to reading this blog, each Friday I do a post called our last trip down there was on our motorcycles in September 2006) for this particular Friday but as things go in life, it was not meant to be this week. It ended up being very cold down here this week (and today), and the timing just didn’t work out for us to go. So today, we just spent the day at home in the living room working on our computers together and we thought we would just go out for a nice dinner together on Friday night.
The day spent in the living room together worked out great, nice to take a day and stay home, but we perhaps never should have left the house. We ended up going to three different restaurants before we found one that had less than a 40 minute wait and it was our last choice of any place to eat between Columbus Georgia and our house, which would be Phenix City Alabama (yes that is spelled correctly for those not from around here, that’s how we spell in Alabama), not really known for all it’s great eateries, sorry).
We make the trek over to Columbus GA probably once a month so Deb and go to a few fabric stores that are not in Auburn. Each time we go, we try to remember not to go back because of the traffic and crowds. With the military base so close by (which is a good thing) the city seems to be so overcrowded at the main shopping centers. So in a huge shopping center which houses a Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Barnes & Noble, Circuit City (right now), Bed Bath and Beyond, Movie Theater and a lot more big box stores and tons of restaurants, to eat is a 40 minute wait (outside in the freezing cold).
We went over to Wal-Mart and picked up something for our favorite Superman in Birmingham (that is just in there to see if he reads my blog) and made our way over to Phenix City to eat. For some reason this restaurant was loaded with Bama paraphernalia so the first shot was for my favorite Bama fan (anyone want to take a guess where that shot was taken). On a side note, if you have a restaurant in the Auburn / Opelika area and would like someone to do a review for you, let me know, we love to eat, write, and review.
Never under estimate the greatness of spending the day at home with your wife and never leaving the house. We did this for probably 10 years straight, so I have some experience in that area, but as a friend of mine put it, sometimes a day at home is a very good thing.
All that to say, welcome to our living room. The feet shot was a vague attempt to sort of re-create a photo my grandfather took of himself (see Son of a Son of a Photographer?) that he took in 1938. I am sort of always trying to recreate that image in my mind but with 71 years difference in the photos there isn’t much other than perhaps the position that remains the same. The photo still fascinates me and it didn’t need a bunch of blabbering text like this to tell a story.
Winter is a strange thing down here. It never really gets a strong hold like it does in the north so we fluctuate between humid storms in the 50-60* and like it is today and tonight, freezing in the 30′s. Even so, the winter would be unbearable to warm loving people without our Lopi (see photo) wood burning stove that keeps it in the tropical range all winter.
In case you were wondering, after being in this house three years we have finally moved the lawn furniture out of the living room and that macbook on the oversized chair across the room is Deb and Ebby’s place (Blazer and I get the other side of the room away from the fireplace). Some days I still feel like we are moving in with boxes everywhere (literally) because of the last remaining remnants of our book business that takes up the entire garage, but it is getting better each week. When Deb starts her classes up again in March all will be gone and cleaned out.
Far more than I am sure any of you care to know but there you go, a mostly uneventful Friday Feet but in my usual long worded way. If any of you do your own Friday Feet post on your blog please let me know so I can link over to you. Have a good weekend everyone.
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I was sent this (the info not the cake) from Deb this morning and I just had to do a blog post about it. For any of those spouses of photographers, especially those Nikon freaks, it is time to step up to the plate and buy him or her that cherished Nikon D700 Birthday Cake. This thing is a replica of a Nikon D700 DSLR camera body with a carrot cake and vanilla buttercream (see Surprise Camera Birthday Cake and Camera Birthday Cake) insides. The attention to detail is wild but it sounds delicious too.
What was even more funny about the cake was the party was Maggiano’s restaurant in Bridgewater, NJ, one of my hometowns for more than some 4 years growing up. I would love to see some photos from the birthday party if any were uploaded to flickr. In the mean time, check out these awesome photos of the Nikon DSLR and NIkon D700 DSLR birthday cakes. I didn’t see how much these cakes cost, but I am fairly certain they won’t put you back the $3,000 that the Nikon D700 costs and it looks far more tasty.
Thanks to Pink Cake Box for the cake images. I love seeing businesses go out of their way to help their customers and the likeness of the D700 is just incredible. I am still finishing up Tribes by Seth Godin and he talks a lot about building a following like Pink Cake Box seems to have done with their masterpieces of sugar and flour. I spend a lot of time with my D700 and the likeness is great. Check them out if you are in the market for a wild looking cake.
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It is not to much of a surprise (outside of the actual look) that Cornerstone is about to launch a new website. I had the privilege of working with Brad Ruggles, a website/graphics designer and creative developer, on the launch of this new site. Two of my three earthly passions are faith, technology, and photography, which means I was pretty much able to combine all three into one project.
This project was something that took a few months to put together, and was the collaborative effort of every staff member at Cornerstone, but it was something I have wanted to work on for many years now. Not just a new website, but a new mindset into what potential the Internet has in the Church body.
Tools like Twitter, Facebook, rss feeds, podcasts, videos, and all the things that make up the Internet today can be utilized for kingdom purposes, and done in a professional way. This isn’t a new subject for me personally (see The Church’s New Drug of Choice // Part 1, Does a Church Really Need a Website?, The Church Body and the Internet, Part 1, The Church Body and the Internet, Part 2, to name a few past posts), I have been on a quiet campaign for relavant church websites for the better part of 10-15 years.
This is (to me) what people expect out of their church today, and especially those Believers and visitors in the 19-29 age range. It is a connected world, a connected society, and they don’t want or expect to walk into a church today and see 20th century technology. We don’t need to or have to spruce up Jesus. The Salvation message has remained the same for 2,000 years, but each church in the Church body reaches different people according to its purpose, and a website is a great place to start.
I say start because a website, a well designed, relavant, media based website, is where you can start to bring people to the Church and where they can learn and connect with others that have a love for Christ. It is no longer about displaying something static that shows the worship times and directions, it is about how do we connect with each other and grow in the Body. I can’t wait for the new site to go live. I think this is exactly what Cornerstone is to me and my wife when we arrived about a year ago and I was thrilled to have some part in putting it together.
I know there are a few other Church IT people that read my blog so I will be writing some additional posts on how it went together and how to even get started. What to look out for when choosing a website design company, and what you should be able to expect from your developer. I think we chose one of the best in Ruggles but throughout the course of the project I did meet several other companies, some good, and some very bad, and hope to share that with you in the upcoming months. Hope you enjoy the new site, it should be live some time this weekend.
